Theses and Dissertations
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5912-7856
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Bheemanahalli Rangappa, Raju
Committee Member
Reddy, K. Raja
Committee Member
Henry, W. Brien
Committee Member
Samiappan, Sathishkumar
Date of Degree
8-8-2023
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Agronomy
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
College
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department
Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Abstract
Suboptimal soil moisture during the growing season often limits growth and yield potential of corn. This study aimed to assess the impact of varying soil moisture regimes on corn growth at different growth phases involving vegetative, flowering, and grain-filling stages. Exposure to moisture stress (80% of the control) during the vegetative stage resulted in a 65% reduction in stomatal conductance and increased the canopy temperature by 5 oC, which led to a substantial decrease in total dry matter (56%). Moisture stress-induced reductions in silk length (19%) and fresh weight (34%), negatively affected kernel number (53%), and weight (54%). Unlike the flowering stage, extreme stress during grain-filling had a greater impact on kernel weight (19%) than the number (7%). During flowering, stress reduced kernel starch content with an increase in protein content. Our findings infer that improving the resilience of the corn flowering stage to soil moisture stress may help reduce the yield gap between irrigated and rainfed.
Recommended Citation
Vennam, Ranadheer Reddy, "Impact of soil moisture stress at different phases of corn growth and development" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 5975.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/5975